Do GMO Foods Cause Autism? Read About the GMO Crops Autism Connection

There is a marked correlation between increases in autism and increases in the amount of GMO foods entering our food supply, causing experts to question if digestive problems from eating GMO foods cause autism.

“It appears there is a direct correlation between GMOs and autism.” stated Arden Anderson, DO, PhD, MPH, an agronomist, medical doctor, and one of the world’s top consultants on advanced soil and crop management. Anderson believes that GMO foods cause autism in addition to other catalysts.

At the Center of the GMO Crops Autism Connection

Dr. Don Huber, PhD

Don Huber, PhD, professor emeritus from Purdue University, is at the front of the GMO crops autism connection. If he has a hunch GMO foods cause autism people need to listen to him; Huber has spent the past 50 years in plant science. He has studied the epidemiology and control of soil borne plant pathogens with an emphasis on microbial ecology, cultural and biological controls, and physiology of host parasite relationships.

Recently he was asked to give his position on whether or not GMO foods cause autism. Dr. Huber gave a talk in Germany in October 2011. He discussed the physiological, neurological, and behavioral symptoms of pigs, cows, and rats fed genetically modified feed. Afterward, a doctor specializing in autism spectrum disorders approached him and said, “The symptoms you describe are exactly what we are finding in our autistic children.” Now Huber and others have begun to wonder if in fact GMO foods cause autism, at least in part.

Why Might GMO Foods Cause Autism? What are They?

The antisocial lab animals in GMO crop studies were fed the same GMO corn and GMO soy eaten by people in the U.S. Both crops contain bacterial genes which allow them to survive being sprayed with herbicide. A herbicide is a weed control product designed to kill plants. When used, higher residues of toxic weed killer end up inside our foods.

In addition, some GMO corn crops have a more disturbing characteristic. GMO corn contains genes artificially inserted by scientists to produce an insect-killing poison called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin. It is in every cell of the GMO corn crop—and in every bite your child consumes. Common sense tells us GM food has to be harmful. Additional study might prove GMO foods cause autism, but funding is tough. Monsanto, the largest biotech seed company in the United States and Canada claims their GMO crops are harmless. They are deeply rooted in the farming industry in the U.S., and they’ve lobbied Congress for laws to protect their agri seed monopoly. But we are learning that their safety claims are false. Citizens need to get behind the scientists that want to expose the truth. We also need to actively boycott GMO foods.

Where’s The Proof GMO Foods Cause Autism?

There is a marked correlation between increases in autism and increases in the amount of GMO foods entering our food supply, causing experts to question if digestive problems from eating GMO foods cause autism.

Some scientists think they see GMO foods cause autism like symptoms in lab animals. GMO fed animals and their offspring show marked differences in behavior to animals fed non-GMO feed. Some scientists say their antisocial behavior is similar to symptoms children diagnosed with autism exhibit. Scientists investigating this phenomena are also looking at long term correlations and statistical data worldwide to determine if GMO foods cause autism.

For example, some independent scientists are pointing to the dramatic increase in autism rates in the U.S. since the early 1990s, when GMO foods first hit the store shelves. Although the visualization is alarming, we also have to make sure the connection is truly there to prove GMO foods cause autism.

Still not convinced there’s a possibility GMO foods cause autism?

You are not alone. Eric Fombonne warns, “The (autism) rates were flat through the late ’80s, and then suddenly a massive rise happened at same time (in the 1990s).” Fombonne is a professor of psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal. He has led autism epidemiological studies in a half-dozen countries. Fombonne warns, “The rise is probably not due to a mysterious global environmental exposure. It’s more likely to reflect new concepts of autism worldwide.” He claims better awareness of the condition has caused the rise in diagnoses. He also says cultural differences play a role in whether or not a child with autism will be diagnosed.

Does this really disprove the claim that GMO foods cause autism?

Autism prevalence is not nearly at such alarming rates in Europe as it is in the U.S., a culture that does not place as much of stigma on diagnosis as other parts of the world do. A handful of small studies in France, for example, have found rates around 5 cases per 10,000 people. One study in Germany calculated it to be 1.9, and another in Portugal 16.7. Conversely, The European Union (EU) has possibly the most stringent GMO regulations in the world. What are autism rates in the U.S.? The latest study published by Reuters has autism rates at a new high for U.S. children. It is now 1 in 88! This gives credence to the theory that GMO foods cause autism rates to rise in certain populations.

Similar Digestive Disorders are found in both GMO Fed Livestock and Autistic Children

About 70% of children diagnosed with autism are found to have digestive disorders. Symptoms include inflammation, intestinal permeability, and imbalances in the intestinal flora (bacterial makeup). These same symptoms also appear in animals fed GMO feed. If GMO foods cause an imbalance in gut flora and this leads to neurological problems, then it is likely GMO foods cause autism, too.

In Smith’s white paper about the GMO crops autism connection he writes, “When California pediatrician Michelle Perro reviewed the study in 2011 and saw the photos of the increased cellular growth and abnormal architecture, she thought to herself, “Uh oh – we’ve got some problems.” Based on her experience treating children for 30 years, she said, “You can extrapolate that the same thing may be occurring in babies clinically. They are not digesting their food. They are malabsorbing…And I’m seeing that commonly now.”

Smith reports that according to Dr. Perro, digestive issues are skyrocketing among her patients. More parents are finding they have a baby allergic to all formulas on the market and they are starting to question GMO corn and soy as culprits. This is a trend that unfortunately needs to stop.

Correlations can be Drawn between Behavioral Changes in Animals Tested and Behaviors Exhibited by Children with Autism

Some scientists who work with GMO fed animals are seeing similar behavioral changes in their subjects as pediatricians might notice in their patients who develop autism. Is this a coincidence, or the result of eating GMO foods that damage the gastrointestinal tract? The connection is tenuous and more study is needed, but a growing number of professionals are demanding answers.

When Dr. Huber visited an ongoing research project using rats he noticed that animals fed non-GMO feed were passive and behaved as pets. Dr. Huber said the behaviors of the GMO fed rats was in stark contrast. “You can hardly catch the rats that have received the GMO feed for a month and a half to two months. They go off by themselves. They’re irritated. (They) crawl up the cage.” Then he added after a long pause, “[They] don’t get along with each other.”

Do GMO Foods Cause Autism? The Caveat:

I believe the causes of autism are multifaceted. It was once explained to me through the analogy of the bucket theory. Everyone is exposed to toxins. Environmental and genetic factors create variable limits for exposure. Some children have bigger buckets than others, and some are exposed to more toxins, viruses, bacteria, and fungi. When a child’s bucket is filled and begins to overflow we see the result in a diseased state. Many people blame vaccines. Some believe it’s genetic. I personally believe there are a combination of factors. But the evidence against GMO foods is overwhelming, as far as I’m concerned. As for me and my family, we are going to avoid GMO crops. The link between autism and GMO food is just a theory right now, but the circumstantial evidence is strong. Further study will likely confirm the initial hunch of a handful of independent scientists. I don’t think I will wait until the verdict comes in to avoid GMO foods, especially genetically modified corn. I hope you feel the same way too. Want to know more about me? Read our personal story of healing called: Scientists Discover Celiac Disease can be the Root Cause of Most Neurological Disorders.

According to Dr. Huber, “When you look at the intestine on those pigs fed the GMO feed, the lining is deteriorated and the critical microbial balance is drastically changed.”

Dr. Arden Anderson, an opponent of GMO crops, has a book to help patients regain health through diet.

Dr. Anderson tells his patients,

“Avoid genetically engineered foods like the plague. In my opinion, they are the plague of the millennium, worse than any plague before in human history.” Dr. Anderson believes independent scientific studies on GMO crops all point to serious inflammatory responses in people. He says genetically engineered food can be tied to lower birth weights, digestive disorders, infertility issues, autoimmune disease, and premature death.

Corn, soy, canola, and cotton are the most common genetically modified crops in our food supply.

Consumers need to demand labeling of GMO foods. Dr. Anderson says, “GMO’s are not going to save the world, feed the starving, raise yields, reduce pesticide use, avoid droughts, circumvent disease and insects. That is all the ‘Hollywood Con.’ It is business, pure and simple. Wild animals, given the choice, will avoid genetically engineered crops until they are near starving.”

I am trying to leave a comment! Dammit! I was told when I was 33 I was diagnosed with this. I was born in 1977, moved overseas to Okinawan Japan. My father was severally exposed to Agent Orange, & I want to know what is going on! I’ll read, but I wish somebody authority on the subject would talk to me…36 years old. What the Hell do I do?! You guys are freaking me out.

I would not ever make jokes or poke fun at this subject, so I am also ticked off now, thinking nobody takes me seriously:(((